THE Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Chief Audu Ogbeh, has lamented the exorbitant amount Nigerians spend on importing food into the country, saying that the total amounts to $20b per year.
Making the disclosure at the closing of the 41st National Council on Agriculture held at Kano Government House, the minister expressed worry over this over-dependence of Nigerians on foreign food.
According to Ogbeh, many things were responsible for the downturn in the agricultural sector in the country, saying that programmes like Udoji of the 1970s were responsible for some of the tragedies facing the agricultural sector in the country.
He said that “It was Udoji programme that made people run away from farms and pursued to become contractors.”
Condemning what he described as ‘elite arrogance’ in the nation’s agricultural sector, Ogbeh assured farmers across Nigeria that his ministry would work hand in hand with them in the formulation of policies affecting agricultural development in the country.
He called on commissioners of agriculture attending the conference from the 36 states of the federation to put more pressure on their governors to ensure that modern ways of agricultural development were employed in their various states.
Noting that irrigation should be looked into as a way to address problems associated with cattle rearing, the minister said that the simple solution to cattle rearing was to grow grass and feed cattle. “We should not depend on using improved grass from Brazil, Argentina and other places. I am also advising all on engaging in cattle rearing modern mechanism.”
The governor of Kano State, Dr. Abdullahi Umar Ganduje, assured all farmers in the state that his administration would do everything possible to help develop agricultural sector for both local and foreign advantages.
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